Philippine E-Journals

Newsletter: Avenue for Improving the Writing Skills of EFL Learners

Maria N. Cusipag

 

Abstract:

News writing is one opportunity to develop the writing skills of students. Schools that have newsletters or school papers need to know the writing proficiency of their students before they recommend them to become staff writers. Thus, this study aimed to obtain a baseline data for selecting the best staff writers for the newsletter of an EFL school. The researcher gathered one hundred twenty news articles of thirty EFL learners aside from getting their writing proficiency scores. Their choice as news writers or news reporters was likewise recorded. To investigate the relationship between the writing proficiency scores of the students and their ratings in their news articles, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis was used. Kendall's Tau-b correlation coefficient was used to find the relationship between the students' writing proficiency scores and their choice as news writers or news reporters. Findings revealed that a significant relationship existed between the writing proficiency scores and the writing performance of students in their four writing drafts as well as in their choice as news reporters or news writers. From the results, the adviser had a basis for choosing the best staff writers for their newsletter. The qualified staff writers and their adviser believe that the newsletter gives students opportunities for improving their English most especially in their writing skills. It is recommended, therefore, that other schools should have a sound basis in choosing their staff writers.